Take a Siesta Today
The 3 p.m. slump: It happens to everyone at some point. You’re at work, post-lunch, it’s warm and you’re feeling drowsy. But you’ve still got a few hours to go before you can log out and head home. Many people reach for a cup of coffee or an energy drink when such feelings set in. But it could be that a brief nap would be a better intervention to help you power through the afternoon productively.
Dr. Peter A. Fotinakes, medical director of the Providence St. Joseph Hospital Sleep Disorder Center in Orange County, California, says this afternoon lull is a great time to get some shuteye, as it fits in with an overarching cycle of sleep-wake that most people naturally experience.
“Napping is a healthy part of our sleep cycle. Within our 24-hour sleep cycle, we enter into two sleep phases – a long phase that occurs during the night and a shorter 30- to 45-minute phase in the afternoon,” says Fotinakes. “We become physically sleepy during these two periods, which encourages and promotes sleep.”
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